


Proper Etiquette

by WinglessCrows



Category: One Piece
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reverie, Running Away, Starvation, it's not all bad I promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-16 12:54:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12343092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinglessCrows/pseuds/WinglessCrows
Summary: "Sometimes, Sanji would be sitting in his cell for hours, other times it would be a couple of days, all depending on what he had done to disappoint his father.  Sanji walked along the wall of his cell until he found the corner he always sat in. He began counting.One. Two. Three."In his gloomy childhood days Sanji only had one joy: cooking, but in a corrupt world, happiness comes at a terrible price.





	1. Birth

**Author's Note:**

> This fic basically ignores/changes most of the things in Sanji's past, and therefore changes Sanji slightly from the way he is in canon, but I suppose that's the whole point of a canon divergance fic... Anyway, some characters are different in this story from how they are in canon, most prominently, Reiju and Sora.
> 
> Also, this is an attempt to escape a writer's block I'm going through, which means this fic is already up on ff.net, however, this is just an edited and hopefully better version.

Sanji didn't know if he just had a bad memory or if things had just always been this way, but all he could remember was fighting, training and studying all day, every day. The pattern wavered in the face of nothing and no one, and if it weren’t for the ever changing seasons, all the days might as well have blended into one. However, even if the pattern never changed, it wasn't always the same. Sanji’s first memories were of him learning different languages - he had learned so many that he didn’t even know what to call his mother tongue - as well as learning how to wield weapons as if they were part of his own body.

He was seven now and although he hadn't met many children his age, he knew that he was both smarter and stronger than most. He spoke almost all of the major languages of the world fluently (Not that there were many left after the World Government had decided to make the language spoken at Mariejoa the common tongue, meaning that all the one hundred and seventy three countries under their flag could speak the same language). That didn't stop some countries from having two languages though and Sanji had been told that it was always more respectable to speak the language of your host rather than your own, so when Sanji would start visiting people of importance it was essential that he could communicate in a way that would please them.

On top of being able to speak in many different tongues, Sanji was also considerably strong. The word considerable was important here. While Sanji was much stronger than normal kids his age, he had nothing on his siblings who were like small monsters. Of course the only reason Sanji knew that he was stronger than other children was because he would often sneak out of the small Germa Kingdom just to get away from everything as a way to break the pattern that threatened his sanity. He would often find himself in small children's fights and no matter what side he ended up choosing after having watched whatever was going on for a time, he always came out on top. But his father couldn't use _considerable_ strength, he needed absolute power.

It wasn't that Sanji didn't try, because he did. He trained everyday with the hopes of catching up to his siblings so that maybe, just maybe, his father wouldn't look at him like he was mere dirt on the ground, but unlike his siblings, Sanji did not enjoy fighting nor did he seem to have the same gift for fighting as they had. He fought because he had to and because he would get punished otherwise, but unlike Ichiji who would one day be head of the Germa 66 and Reiju who would be the Queen of a royal family, Sanji didn't know what his strength was supposed to be used for. But for all the fighting he did, Sanji could never catch up. Once a week the siblings would be pinned against one another, and as surely as Reiju would win every single fight, Sanji would lose every single fight, and their father was more than disappointed. The fights between Sanji's brothers were always relatively even and every week a new one would stand as the male champion, but never Sanji. Sanji hadn't even been close to winning, not even once.

It had come to a point where his father had decided that he didn't want to use unnecessary resources on him, and where all his siblings had the best teachers his father could get his hands on, Sanji was now suddenly put in the hands of some random foot soldier. He was taught how to use a variety of weapons, but the one his father had decided should be his main asset was the sword. Sanji wasn't too displeased with this decision as he was actually quite good with wielding blades. He would have preferred something smaller and more flexible, but he could learn how to wield a sword. He _would_ learn how to wield a sword, because that was the only way to earn his father’s approval. Despite the foot soldier not being anything like Sanji's old teacher, he was never mean to Sanji and as long as Sanji put in the work, he would still improve just as much as he had before. Not that that was anything to brag about, but at the very least he was making some sort of progress, even if his father didn't know about it. He would still get his ass handed to him during the weekly sibling fights and after his father had given him a worse teacher, it seemed that the punishments for losing also got worse.

The punishments varied too. Sometimes he would get thrown into the dungeons without any food or light, and he'd sit there until his father decided to let him out. Sometimes he would have to fight their father in what would be a short and painful ordeal, and other times he would be Reiju's personal punching bag. They claimed that it was because they needed a moving target, but Sanji knew better. He might be weaker than the rest of them, but he was also smarter than them... or at least he was smarter than they thought he were.

  
The only time Sanji could truly catch a break was during meals. His favorite meal was dinner, because it had more food and would therefore take longer. The thing about dinner was that if Sanji just behaved, no one would talk to him and he could enjoy some peace of mind. Of course, maintaining proper etiquette while dining wasn't the easiest job for a child of royalty. There were so many dos and don'ts and every time you messed up someone would yell at you. Usually it would be Mother, but occasionally it would be Father or the head butler. Once it had even been his maid. But Sanji had been quick to learn how to stay out of trouble much unlike his siblings.

He'd always make sure to sit straight and always keep his hands on his knees when he wasn't using them. His younger brother Yonji would often get told off for his poor posture and wild movements while eating. Sanji would make sure to use the utensils properly and in the right order, unlike Niji who either messed up what fork to start with or didn't grip the utensils in the right way making his eating clumsy. He would eat slowly so that he wouldn't be the first person to finish his meal. Often he'd match it so that he'd finish his meal around the same time as his mother. That way she couldn't complain. Ichiji was completely different as he usually finished food before anyone else and also made a lot of noise while eating. If he was ever spoken to, Sanji would respond in a respectful manner. He'd look at whoever was talking to him in the eye and speak clearly, but not too loud. He'd address his family with respect. He called his parents: Mother and Father, rather than mum and dad, which many of his siblings preferred. He used honorifics with all of his siblings, even Yonji, and he would speak like an adult. He'd use no slang like Niji and no curse words like Reiju. He'd only speak when spoken to, not just because he didn't want to talk, but because children should be seen and not heard. He was glad that Reiju didn't follow that rule though. She was eleven years old and considered herself an adult, so she would always start a conversation with someone. She'd either talk to Father about fighting or to Mother about politics. This kept Sanji from being interrogated about his day and he could enjoy his food in silence.

As meal time had become his favorite part of the day he also started to appreciate the finer details in it. He noticed how the chef would change how much he'd cook the beef depending on the sauce and the side dishes. He noticed how salt complemented different ingredients and how there was a fine balance between using too much salt and too little. He noticed how salmon tasted better in autumn, while mackerel tasted better in spring. He noticed how different teas complemented different desserts and how cold and hot ingredients changed taste if not eaten at prime temperature. Many times Sanji wondered how many of the dishes he ate had been made and whether or not he could make them too. Very often Sanji would look at the cut of a fish and appreciate the fine blade work, and think that with his knife skills, he should be able to do it too. There had been many occasions where Sanji had been tempted to sneak into the kitchens, but he knew that his parents wouldn't approve and always decided against it. Until now that was.

Sanji's foot soldier teacher had called of training early claiming that he had a stomach ache and although Sanji knew that he should probably keep training himself, he figured that a half day of training couldn't make _that_ much of a difference and did what he had always wanted to do. Go to the kitchen. Sanji made sure that no one saw him as he listed around the castle and when he finally arrived at his destination he hid behind a big box that smelled a lot like dirt. There weren't many people in the kitchen, only three, but Sanji knew that was because he had snuck into the main kitchen which only served the Vinsmokes, while the kitchen, which connected to a mess hall for their soldiers, was located in a different part of the huge castle.

Sanji had never seen a meal being prepared before and as he observed the different methods of cooking, Sanji was enchanted. There were so many things that went into the food and so many small details which Sanji could never have figured out just by tasting. The chefs used different techniques for kneading in the spices into various ingredients. Sanji had always just thought that spices was something you put in top of everything, but it seemed like that was far from the case. Sanji spotted some pieces of meat resting in a bowl of oil and chili, while one chef was carefully massaging and rubbing some salt on the skin of a fish. Sanji also noticed how they used different knives to cut with. The big pieces of meat were chopped up with the biggest knife in the kitchen, while the blades used for fish were more slender and flexible. The knives for vegetables were small too, but more sturdy than the fish knifes. There were so many things to cooking and Sanji wanted nothing more than to ask the chefs about everything food related, but he knew that it was time to get back and as Sanji left the kitchen, he promised himself to one day go back there, even if he would once again just be observing.

That evening Sanji was extra careful while tasting and thought hard about how the flavours all came together. This all resulted in Sanji eating a little slower than usual which gained some unwanted attention.

"Are you not hungry?" His father asked without looking at him, but a quick glance around the table told Sanji that he was indeed the one being spoken to as no one else had any food left on their plate.

"Of course I am, father," Sanji said and looked at him even though their gazes never met, "I just thought that today's meal was unusually good." Sanji really hoped that his father bought his explanation, but Sanji knew that it didn't really matter whether he believed him or not. His father had been displeased with something he had done, and that usually resulted in things which Sanji would rather not think about.

"An excuse," his father snorted and Sanji felt the dread creeping up on him. Suddenly a hand grabbed Sanji's arm hard, and he flinched as he felt nails digging into his skin.

"Let me go!" Sanji yelled and tried to get out of the strong grip, but to no avail.

"You know what to do with him," Sanji heard his father say and his voice held everything Sanji needed to know. He didn't care. He didn't care at all.

Sanji protested, screamed and kicked all the way down to the dungeons, but the man who was dragging him along didn't even lift an eyebrow, and merely threw him inside the small cell with the iron bars, and locked Sanji up.

  
It was dark in the tiny cell. Sanji didn't like the dark. There were no windows and the man had taken the torch with him, so Sanji had no way of telling what time it was, which was the main reason why he hated the dark cell. He was waiting for something he didn't know when would come, if it ever would come. Sometimes he would find himself doubting if his father would ever let him out of the small cell. He'd think that maybe his father had finally had enough of him and decided that he should just die in this small, dark hole where no one would ever find him.

Being locked up in itself wasn't so bad, but when his father had realized that he had no problem with a well lit cell and a certain amount of time to be in there, he had taken that luxury away from him. Sometimes, Sanji would be sitting in his cell for hours, other times it would be a couple of days, all depending on what he had done to disappoint his father. Sanji didn't think that what he had done this time was all that bad, so he almost expected to be out by morning, but his father had been getting more and more annoyed with him lately, so it could drag on even further. Sanji walked along the wall of his cell until he found the corner he always sat in. He began counting.

_One. Two. Three._

He counted the seconds.

_Four. Five. Six._

He counted the minutes.

_Seven. Eight. Nine._

He counted the hours.

_Ten._

  
Sanji heard foot steps by the tenth hour and his entire body grew tense with fear. _Click. Clack_. The footsteps moved slowly and were sharper than the sounds made by the soldiers of the castle who always came to collect him. _Click. Clack._ Sanji was suddenly colder and more frightened than he’d been in the ten hours he’d sat in his little corner, counting each and every second with the heat slowly leaving his body. _Click. Clack. Click._ He knew what was coming. _Click. Clack. Click. Clack._ She was coming. _Click._

The sudden light was blinding, but Sanji preferred not to look, as if he could pretend that if he couldn’t see her, then she wasn’t real. He heard the sound of the door being unlocked, but no one stepped into the cell. For a few moments, he kept his eyes shut and his head tucked between his legs, but as if fearing that she would move closer if he didn’t acknowledge her, he lifted his head.

Sanji's eyes slowly adjusted to the light and the silhouette before him became clear. Her blonde hair was tied up in a loose ponytail showing her long neck and her pretty face. She was wearing a long white dress that was just tight enough to reveal her beautiful body and with it she wore glistening glass shoes. She was smiling, but as Sanji looked at her face it was her icy blue gaze which stared back at him.

"Mother..." He said slowly, because he didn't know why she was here. He didn't even remember the last time they had spoken. What had it been about? Had she been mad at him? Had he done something wrong? The answer was probably yes, but Sanji didn't know. He usually avoided her the best he could.

"Come now, Sanji my child," she said sweetly, "You've been down here for far too long." She held out her hand and terrified of disobeying her, Sanji took it and followed her out of the dungeons.

Sanji soon came to realize that they were going to his room, which meant that the two of them would be alone together, and honestly, Sanji would do anything to see Reiju's face right now. Being alone with his mother was never a good thing. When they reached his room, they entered and she made sure to lock the door behind her.

"Let's make this a secret from your father. He wanted to keep you down there for a whole day, but that's not fair, is it?"

Sanji didn't answer.

"Why don't you go sit on you bed, Sanji."

He did as he was told.

She came to sit beside him and gently started to clean his dirty face with a wet cloth. They sat in silence for a long time while she just cleaned his face. Once in awhile he would glance at her, but as soon as their eyes met he would look back at his feet again.

His room was the complete opposite of the prison cell. It was big and well lit. It had a massive bed that even his father could lie in and still be left with plenty of space to move around on. There were a big balcony opposite the entrance with big glass doors which Sanji always had open because he liked the smell of the ocean which they were always sailing upon. Of course, his mother had made sure to close the doors and draw the curtains, so even if it was a bright morning, Sanji had no way of knowing. He had a big closet for all of his training gear and formal clothing, and of course his personal bathroom with the biggest tub you would ever see... unless you saw Reiju's. But most of Sanji's room was taken up by shelves upon shelves of books.

Up until last year, Sanji had thought that perhaps if he became a well studied person, his father would overlook his lack of physical strength and allow him to help the family through his mind rather than his fists. When his father had burned his favorite book it had become clear to him that that would never happen. Yet despite this room being as big, bright and luxurious as it was, Sanji still felt more trapped here than in the cell. In the cell he at least knew that nothing worse could happen and that, eventually, he would get out, be that because someone released him or he died. Sometimes he thought that either way would be fine. In here though, he never knew what could happen, and now with his mother beside him, he felt more trapped than ever.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked sweetly and Sanji dug his nails into his knees to avoid flinching at the sound of her voice.

"Nothing, mother," He answered and tried not to sound too scared or timid.

"We both know that's not true," she said and he felt the cloth digging into his skin before she continued with gentle strokes, "You always think. Even more than your brothers, so tell me, what were you thinking?"

Sanji bit his lip, "I was just... I was thinking about how I could become stronger." He hoped she would believe the lie.

"Your father doesn't understand. You know that don't you?" Sanji looked up at her not knowing what she was getting at, "He doesn't understand that you are already strong. None of your brothers have ever gone through all the things your father has done to you, and I think that has made you stronger than them, but in a different way."

She brushed the lock of hair he had covering his left eye away and continued washing his face. She was smiling, but then again, she was always smiling. Sanji didn't like her smile. He didn't know why, but it scared him. It scared him more than anything ever would.

"One day you'll be great, Sanji, you understand? One day you'll be great," She took his hand in hers and used the end of the cloth to lift his head so that he would look at her, "You'll be greater than your brothers, because you are smart and because you understand things they will never understand. You know real pain." She gripped his hand tighter, "You'll be great." The grip got harder and he wanted to speak up, but the words wouldn't come. "You have my blood running through your veins, so for my sake," she gripped even harder, "You'll be great." Her nails were beginning to draw blood.

"Mother..." Sanji gasped, her nails under the cloth was beginning to dig through to his chin so he couldn't look away.

"You'll be great for me." Her voice was nothing but a hiss and the words were starting to resonate within him like a curse.

"Mother..." Sanji whispered and he felt tears prickling, daring to start falling at any second, "You're hurting me..." She didn't listen.

"You understand, don't you, my sweet boy. You'll be great."

"Mother!" He cried out and she let go of him. She didn't look at his now injured hand, instead she just smiled at him, wiped a tear away from the corner of his eye and kissed his forehead.

"You must be tired," she said as she stood up, "Get some rest," and with that she left Sanji alone in the room.

He sighed, relieved, and fell back on his bed. He didn't care that the blood from his hand was slowly dripping onto the white silken covers, he didn't even notice the pain anymore, he just felt his chest as it went up and down with every breath he took. It was always harder to breathe with Mother being near. He closed his eyes, trying to forget her smile and her piercing blue eyes, but he couldn't. The more he tried to forget, the clearer she became and her sweet sickening voice became louder and the words:  _for me_ would haunt his dreams forever. He opened his eyes again. He didn't want to sleep. He didn't want to sleep and dream of her, so he took a bath. He found a nearly finished book which he hoped would help him forget everything, if just for a little while.

* * *

 

No one disturbed Sanji that day. Maybe no one knew that he wasn't in the cell anymore or they just didn't want to bother with him. Either way, Sanji was content with being alone. When it was time for dinner and no one came to get him, Sanji decided that he would never get an opportunity like this ever again, and snuck back down to the kitchens. This time when Sanji arrived the kitchen was empty. There was a single pot on the stove, but other than that the kitchen was clean. Sanji was curious as to what was in the pot, but he dared not open it in case he ruined something, so he just got close enough to catch the faint smell of beef and tomato. It made his mouth water, and Sanji realized that he hadn't actually eaten in about twenty-four hours, so it made sense for him to be hungry.

Sanji quickly ran to the door to ensure that no one was coming before going to the fridge. As he opened it he was met with a lot more food than he had expected. The shelves were overflowing with so many different things that Sanji could hardly believe his eyes. He couldn't even name half of the things in the fridge. Sanji's stomach made a growl and Sanji looked for something to eat, but everything was raw. He knew that eating things raw was bad and could potentially make you ill and while Sanji had never been ill, he had been injured enough for him to be bedridden and his father had been more than displeased with that. And then a thought occurred to him. He could just cook the food himself! What a brilliant idea, except... Sanji didn't really know the first thing about cooking. Sanji looked around the kitchen for something he could use, and _bingo_ there it was, right on the counter, a recipe book. Sanji closed the fridge again, ran to it and opened it excitedly.

As Sanji flipped through the book, he was glad that it contained pictures, because he found that he didn't know what a lot of the words meant, so he had to somehow just make it up as he went. Sanji decided that the recipe that seemed the simplest would be what he was going for and it happened to be a mackerel dish. From what Sanji understood, he didn't have to do much to the fish other than salt it, so he found the fish and the salt, and rubbed in the salt as he had seen the chef do the day before. The tricky part was to cooking process. It said to cook at medium heat, but Sanji didn't know what exactly that was supposed to be, so he had to guess. The recipe was also very specific with the oil that he was supposed to fry it in, as it he was supposed to put a lot of things in it. Sanji found all the ingredients, except for sugar, because he thought that that was a weird thing to put on a fish. He then found a frying pan, which was just big enough for the fish and got to work.

Fortunately he had seen how to turn on the stove the day before and a small flame appeared before him. He turned it up a little, because it was supposed to be medium heat, though Sanji still wasn't sure that he was doing it right. He then placed the pan on the heat and put in the fish with all the ingredients. At first nothing happened, and it occurred to Sanji that he didn't know how long the fish should cook for. The recipe just said:  _fry until done_ , but that didn't really help Sanji a whole lot. After a few minutes the pan was starting to make noises and the hot oil was beginning to fly everywhere, so Sanji protected himself with a towel to avoid getting a burn. Hot oil was no joke. A little late Sanji realized that he probably had to flip the fish over, and found a fork to help him do it. As he flipped the fish he saw that it had gotten a little burnt, but it didn't seem too bad. After a few more minutes, Sanji turned off the stove and waited for the oil to stop attacking him before putting the fish on a plate. He didn't have any side dishes, and though he knew that fish went well with rice, there was no way he could finish the entire fish anyway, so it didn't really matter. Then he heard talking.

Sanji hadn't made too much of a mess, but compared to when he had entered the kitchen, it was obvious that someone had been in there. However, Sanji had no choice and quickly made a run for it with his fish and the recipe book, which he had forgotten to put back. From behind him he heard shouting, but as no one was following him, he believed that it was just the head chef having found the kitchen in a not so pristine shape as it had been left in, but if they couldn't find the culprit then it was all fine by Sanji.

Sanji ran all the way back to his room and locked the door when he was safe inside. He placed the book on his desk and sat in his favorite reading corner to eat his food. It didn't look as good as the food he was usually served, but it was better than nothing and he dug in. The fish tasted... interesting. It had a weird kick which Sanji didn't really like and he couldn't quite figure out where it came from. It wasn't quite cooked in the middle either even though one side was burnt and the other had been close to also burning, so Sanji made sure to stay away from the more raw areas. There wasn't enough salt on it either, even though Sanji had thought that he had put plenty on it. All considered, Sanji had never cooked before and as the dish hadn't ended up being completely inedible he counted it as a win.

He didn't finish the dish though and threw out the waste. Sanji then went to bathroom to wash up, but when he came back to his room the smell of fish made itself known to him, and Sanji immediately knew that that was a problem. He then opened the balcony doors, and shivered. It was a cold autumn night, so if the doors were to stay open, he would have to sleep with extra blankets. Sanji was also quick to hide the recipe book before going to bed. As soon as he was under the covers he fell asleep. It had been a long day.

The next few weeks were rather uneventful. Sanji would wake up to an hour of studying the topic of the day, then he would practice his sword skills until the sun went down, then he would attend the family dinner, and for an hour before he went to sleep he would read in his recipe book until he had memorized every word. The routine changed one day at dinner, and this time it wasn't because Sanji had done something bad. They were approaching an island. The children were not allowed to set foot on an island without their parents or a suitable guard, but Sanji had long ago figured out how to sneak out of the Germa Kingdom without his parents being any the wiser.

This time both his parents would be visiting some royal family to discuss terms of peace. Not that they were at war with the nation, but every monarch in the North had a good reason to be wary of the Germa Kingdom, so staying on their good side was in their best interest. It was also revealed that Reiju, for the first time, would be joining their parents, which had her in very high spirits, as she was finally old enough to attend important meetings. Sanji had eyed his father when he had given her the news and he saw through him immediately. This was an opportunity to find a suitable husband for Reiju. Sanji wanted to smile at the thought but held it back. Reiju would hate the idea of an arranged marriage and Sanji so wanted to see Father and his little princess get into a fight. Call Sanji a sadist, but since he was always the one getting punished while Reiju got all the praise, it would be nice to change it up, just once.

* * *

 

They arrived at the island after three days and Sanji watched from his balcony as the island got closer. It had been months since they had last been on land, and Sanji was eager to get away from the kingdom. He watched as his parents and Reiju left and were greeted by a guy in a uniform who lead them to their castle. Not long after Sanji's guard came to take him to practice, and the soldier who was training him - whose name Sanji still did not know - was the only one standing between Sanji and three hours of freedom, He set his plan in motion. His brilliant, and completely fool-proof plan to get the guard out of the way without anyone suspecting the slightest. It wasn't the most honourable thing to do, but it wouldn't hurt the guy too much, so it was okay. So as the guard looked away Sanji slipped a small bag containing a white drug into his water, which would have him pooping the rest of the day. It didn't take long for the drug to do its work and the soldier panted as he ended their training session early and ran for the loo. Sanji smiled. Freedom was within his grasp.

Sanji snuck out the same way he always did and before long he was standing on a busy street surrounded by strangers. Sanji didn't know where to start. Everywhere he looked there was something interesting, something new, something exciting. Sanji was about to choose the biggest chocolate store he had ever seen, since chocolate and other sweets were a rare thing to come upon in the Germa Kingdom, because, as his father said, you should never eat food that couldn't improve your body. However, Sanji's attention was caught by a woman who had just dropped all her bags and was frantically trying to gather all her things in the midst of the hurried crowd. With his small body, Sanji easily manoeuvred through the busy street and as he reached the woman he started helping her. It didn't take long for the two of them to gather all her things and Sanji gracefully offered to carry some of her bags so that she wouldn't drop them again.

They walked for a while down one of the streets and Sanji took a look at all the places he wanted to check out before he went back to the Germa Kingdom. Eventually they arrived at a bookshop, which made sense as most of the bags they were carrying contained books. The woman gestured to a counter where Sanji could put the bags he was carrying and thanked him for the help.

"Do you want anything?" The woman asked him as he was about to leave the shop, "You can choose a book to take home with you. Can you read?"

"I can read." Sanji said, and wondered if it was rare for people not to be able to read.

"That's good. You can choose any book you want. Do you have a preference?"

Sanji thought about that for a while. He could always get more books of the political kind, so it would be a waste to get one of those. He was running out of fiction as his father didn't really like him wasting time on nonsense, as he called it. Originally the fiction books had been used when they were learning to read because they usually contained an extremely varied vocabulary. But then an idea came to Sanji and it all seemed so obvious, because this was the one thing his father would never allow him to own.

"Do you have any books on cooking?" Sanji asked, and the woman smiled.

"You like to make food?"

"I'd like to learn," Sanji answered and smiled back at her.

"So you're a beginner, yeah?" Sanji nodded, "Well, then I have just the perfect book for you."

She disappeared for a minute and then came back with a book at least twice the size as the one Sanji had hidden in his room.

"This should explain all the basics of cooking. It will take a few tries to get some of the recipes right, but it's all about learning from failure, right?" _Learning from failure?_ Sanji had never heard that before, but he decided to let it slide.

"Are you sure I can take this?" Sanji asked. No one had ever given him anything before. At least not for free.

"Of course. I have a bunch of copies of that book anyway, so it's no big deal and I wanted to say thank you."

"... but you did say thank you," Sanji wondered out loud and tilted his head slightly. The woman chuckled and ruffled his hair. Sanji found that both odd and comforting.

"I believe that with words come action. Now off you go, you looked like you had somewhere to be and I'd hate to keep you from it."

She followed him out the door, and he thanked her for the book before he left. Sanji spent the last few hours of his free time going around to different food shops and buying little things he could easily keep hidden in his room. When it was time to get back, Sanji quietly snuck into his room and made it look like he had been practising all day. The day was soon over and, as usually, no one suspected Sanji for not having stayed in their floating fortress.  
More weeks went by and in that time they visited two more islands. Sanji acquired a new book about cooking on each of them and now had four books safely hidden behind a set of books his father never even glanced at. They were all books about basic economy, and while Sanji had read them all a couple of times and they had nothing new to teach him, but they were good references, so no one saw a need to take them away from him. Besides, his father would rather get rid of his fiction section, but he hadn't seemed to bother with it just yet.

Sanji had also been in the kitchen a couple of times since he had made his first fish. The second time had been after he had read the book he had gotten from the lady at the book shop, and the fish he had made had tasted much better than the first one. He had added the sugar this time which had gotten rid of the weird kick the first one had had, and Sanji was impressed at how sugar could work in this way, as the fish didn't taste sweet at all. He had also waited to put the fish in the pan until the oil was hot and he had used the right heating so that it wouldn't burn, but this time get cooked in the middle. The fish still wasn't at the standard of food which Sanji usually ate, but it was levels above his first attempt and Sanji had gotten so happy that he had snuck into the kitchen again the following day, even if he knew the risks.

During these sections, Sanji had gotten pretty good at working with fish. He had decided to learn about one sort of cooking first before getting into something else. His two other books also reflected this. One book was all about cutting different types of fish and what the special properties of those fish were, while the second one was all about how to bring out the flavour of fish, and what spices went well with them. One thing that had caught Sanji's interest in the second book was the first chapter which described an ocean call the All Blue. A legendary ocean where fish from all the seas came together. A chef's paradise. Sanji often found himself daydreaming about the legendary ocean and he had read about the All Blue more times than the actual recipes the book contained. He would even think of the ocean while he was working with fish, and it only kept encouraging him to go back to the forbidden room. Of course, with all that Sanji was using the kitchen he was bound to be found out at some point.

It happened one night where Sanji was trying out a salmon dish, and he hadn't heard the door open as he was way too focused on his work.

"When you cook salmon you should always fry the side with skin first," a voice said and Sanji got so frightened that he fell off the box which he had been standing on.

The guy who had walked in laughed and Sanji got a little more calm. The guy was wearing a standard chef's uniform with the little Germa 66 logo above his chest. He was quite tall, but didn't seem all that muscular. He had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, which gave him a very laid back look.

"You won't tell my father?" Sanji asked almost immediately. If his father ever found out it would be the end of him.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him, but you should probably be a bit more careful. The head chef has been noticing that food keeps disappearing."

"Sorry..." Sanji whispered, but the guy just laughed again.

"Don't worry, don't worry, it's not like we are having a food shortage or anything, so it's all fine. But why are you cooking anyway? Shouldn't you be spending more time fighting?"

Sanji didn't answer for a while, trying his best to find the words that would explain why he was cooking, "It's... fun?" Sanji was a bit hesitant with the word. He hadn't really used it before.

"I know. I know!" The guy exclaimed and Sanji looked curiously at him, "It's like you have this boring and bland ingredient, but then when you work with it, it just becomes something more, and you can share it with others, and it's just super fun!"

"Is that fun?" Sanji asked slowly and the guy looked at him like he didn't understand the question.

"Is what fun? Cooking? Didn't you just say so yourself?"

"No... I mean... Sharing your cooking with others."

"What do you mean? Of course it is! That's the best part! Are you telling me that no one has tasted your cooking before? Like never ever?!" A slight pause, "Well, I guess that makes sense considering that a prince shouldn't really be cooking. Well then, how about I be your first customer? I can taste that salmon for you."

"Really?" Sanji's eyes lit up. Now that he thought about it, having a proper chef taste his cooking would be amazing. He could get some good advice, and he had been getting good lately so he really wanted someone to taste it.

"Yes, really, but you should probably concentrate on your salmon before you cook it black," the guy laughed and took a seat close to Sanji.

The next couple of minutes were filled with small talk while Sanji cooked his fish. Sanji learned that the guy's name was Yusei, but he preferred to be called Yu-chan, which Sanji had a problem remembering as nicknames wasn't really a thing in the royal circles. He had been cooking in the Germa Kingdom for approximately two years. He had come when he was sixteen, and now as eighteen he didn't want to leave the Germa Kingdom, at least not for a while.

"I wanted to teach in a culinary school," he told Sanji as he was plating the food.

"What's a culinary school?" Sanji asked as schools were places for reading in his mind.

"It's like an ordinary school, but instead of learning numbers and letters, you learn how to cook."

"Oh!" Sanji breathed, feeling stupid for not having understood that, "Well, the food's ready."

Sanji placed the food by the counter and Yusei dug in.

"This is really good, Sanji-chan!" "It's Sanji- _kun_." "I mean, it's not perfect, but for a person who just started it's amazing, Sanji-chan." "-kun. Sanji-kun." "If you want me to teach you, it's Sanji-chan."

It took Sanji a few seconds to comprehend that. "You will teach me?" Sanji had to fight to keep his voice down.

"I just told you, didn't I? I wanted to teach cooking, and it seems like I have found my first apprentice." He smiled, and Sanji smiled back. It seemed that in his dark and never changing life, he had, for the first time, found some light.

Winter came and went by so quickly that Sanji hardly remembered what snow was. He and Yusei had decided to have Sanji's cooking lessons every Sunday, and now that Sanji had something to look forward to every week, he slowly started improving on his training as well. And this did not go unnoticed by his father. Halfway through winter Sanji got a new teacher who taught Sanji, not only sword fighting, but also martial arts, and in for the first time it had been months since Sanji had been in the dungeon cell. It seemed that everything was going well, and as far as first times were concerned, a few weeks before his birthday, something amazing happened.

"It seems that Sanji is starting to catch up to his brothers," his father said and though that didn't seem like the most impressive sentence to many, to Sanji, that was everything he could ever hope for, "It may even be time for him to go on his first mission. All his siblings have already had theirs."

Sanji beamed. He was receiving cooking lessons, he was getting stronger and his father was finally acknowledging his strength. Could it get any better? It really couldn't. His father didn't say any more than that, but it put Sanji in a good mood for the rest of the day, and as he made his way into the kitchen, Yusei immediately caught on to his happiness.

"Well you surely seem happy today. Did something happen?"

"My father is thinking about sending me out on missions!" Sanji answered excitedly.

"Missions? What does that mean?"

"I don't know the details, but all my siblings have already started going on missions, so that means father is finally treating me like them."

Yusei didn't seem convinced by that explanation at all. "How can you be so happy when you don't even know what they'll have you do? What if you have to fight someone strong? Like someone really really strong."

"I can handle it!" Sanji said with new found confidence, "I'm a better fighter than a cook anyway."

This made Yusei smile, "Well I sure hope so, because your cooking skills are still at novice level." With that they began the cooking lesson.

Two weeks before Sanji's birthday was when everything finally turned and Sanji hated himself for ever thinking that his life would remain this good. It started when one of the maids discovered his secret books, and no matter how much Sanji had tried to make her stay silent about it, she still ended up going to his father. Saying that he had been angry would have been a very nice way to put it and quite far from the truth. His father had been outraged. The books had been burnt to ashes and as Sanji desperately held onto the last one his father had forcefully taken it and Sanji so close to the fireplace that if Sanji had not let go he would have been burnt along with it. His father had then personally dragged him to the dungeon and thrown Sanji into the cell with such force that Sanji could hear his ribs breaking as he collided with the wall.

"Father..." Sanji gasped as the door was locked and his father took the torch, "I'm sorry."

"If you're sorry then you will stop it with these disgusting activities, and put that energy into becoming a strong swordsman."

"I'm sorry," Sanji cried silently, "But I..."

"You what?!" His father roared, and Sanji could hardly see him through his tears.

"I love to cook. Please father. Won't you let me cook? I promise I won't neglect my training, just let me cook. Please father!"

For a long time his father didn't say a word. He just stared at him blankly... and then: "Pathetic." The word was a mere whisper, but Sanji knew that the battle was lost and as the last flicker of light had left the room, Sanji cried harder than he had ever cried before. He cried. He screamed. He hit the walls and ignored the pain from his broken bones. He cried some more and by the time he was let out he had no more tears to cry.

Sanji had been in the cell for three full days without food or water, and after a small meal and a few bandages applied to keep him from moving too much, his training started again. His new teacher was more strict than ever, but Sanji never complained once, because he knew that this was the punishment for his happiness. And it only got worse.

A week after he had been discovered Sanji was forced to stay after dinner, and when he and his father were the only two members of their family left in the dining room, Sanji wished that he was back in the dark cell. Two people had entered the room. One was the head chef and the other...

"This is one of the assistant chefs in our kitchen, Yusei," His father began, and looked at Sanji,

"Do you know him?"

"I don't," Sanji lied immediately. Even if he had to be punished, there was no need for others to go down with him.

"There has been food disappearing from the kitchen for a couple of months, Vinsmoke-sama. Not much, but enough for us to notice. The food all seem to disappear during Sunday night, which happens to be the one day Yusei here has free time. Moreover these ingredients that have been missing were all things that would have been fairly easy to prepare. Perfect for a beginner, but Yusei has been cooking all his life, as have all the chefs in my kitchen, so it has become apparent that he has been teaching someone."

His father looked at Sanji intensely, but instead of asking him more questions, he turned to Yusei.

"How do you know this boy," his father asked and it stung that he referred to Sanji as if he was a complete stranger.

"I serve him as I serve you, Vinsmoke-sama." Yusei answered and Sanji prayed that their cooking lessons wouldn't be discovered despite all the proof they had.

"So you would say that you don't care for this boy," His father asked and Sanji got confused about where this interrogation was going.

"I care for him as I care for all those I cook for. Nothing personal."  
"Is that so?" The was a brief second where nothing happened, and then Sanji screamed. He hadn't even heard the gunshot, but the pain coming from his leg was overwhelming.

"Sanji-chan!" Yusei's voice was almost drowned out by Sanji's screaming, but he still heard it and in that moment he knew that the pain to come was much worse than what he was experiencing now.

"That should settle the matter. Get him out of my sight."

"No..." Sanji cried, "Don't hurt Yu-chan. Please father, I beg of you, he did nothing wrong. Please father, if you have to punish someone, then punish me! Please don't hurt Yu-chan!"

"Yu-chan?" His father said coldly and Sanji knew he had made a big mistake, "Not only did you pick up on a nasty habit, but you have even begun to speak like a commoner." He wasn't yelling. It was always worse when he wasn't yelling. "Do you have no respect for the Vinsmoke name?"

"Father, I'm-"

"You are a disgrace to our family."

Sanji didn't remember what happened after that. All the voices had become one and his vision had failed him, so he had closed his eyes. His father’s words continued to play in his head even after he had lost consciousness and when he finally woke up in his bed he cried the last tears he would ever cry in the Germa Kingdom.

* * *

  
Sanji never saw the dungeon cell again. All he ever did was train. He trained from the moment he woke up until he collapsed from exhaustion. It became mechanical and where the days before had passed by fast because he had been happy, they were now going by quickly as he had stopped thinking entirely. He didn't want to think about cooking, because if he did he would think of Yu-chan. Yu-chan who he would no longer see, because Yu-chan was in heaven and Sanji was doomed for hell. He didn't want to think about his family who had stopped talking to him completely. He actually preferred it when they had tormented him, because at least then, he existed. Now, he was nothing but a ghost bound to his father's will. Sanji just preferred not to think.

The breaking point was his eighth birthday. Once again they were seated by the dining table and Sanji was having trouble remembering why he had once liked dinner time.

"I have finally found a suitable mission for you, Sanji," his father started and Sanji looked at him with empty eyes, "There is a person whom the government has been trying to catch for years, but so far they've had no luck. She was recently spotted in the North. The mission is simply. Bring her to me and you succeed."

"I understand," Sanji said coldly and returned to his room after having been dismissed.

In his room he found information on his target placed on his desk. It contained her wanted poster which seemed to have not had gotten a new photo since it was first taken nine years ago It had information about her parentage, her upbringing and her recent activities. Sanji read everything until he had memorised and decided that it would be better to just get it over with. He didn't even want to imagine what would happen to him if he should fail.

A week later the day finally came where Sanji would start his mission, and a horrible surprise awaited him. He would not be going alone, and his companion would be his lovely mother.

"Since this is your first mission, I wanted to come with you," she smiled and boarded the small ship with him. Sanji stared at her for a few seconds, but then he composed himself. There was nothing that this woman could possibly do to make his life worse than it already was, so he no longer had any reason to fear her.  
They had a couple of people to manage the ship with them, but as soon as they docked on the island they would be alone. The journey would be about a week long, and in that time Sanji continued to train. He had his mother watching though, and in the beginning he had flinched every time she spoke, until her icy voice had become a part of him. It was always the same words that came out of her mouth: "How strong you have become, Sanji.", "You really are amazing. As expected of my son." and the best one, "With this strength you will serve me well."

It was the morning of the eighth day when the captain of the ship informed them that the island had been spotted and his mother gave him some new clothes to wear. "We need to look like we belong," she had explained and Sanji put on his 'commoner' outfit. It consisted of a pair of baggy shorts and a white though slightly stained shirt. His mother was wearing another white dress. It was much more simple than those she usually wore, and it was easy to see that the clothing material was much cheaper than anything she owned, hell, their curtains looked better than her dress, but it didn't really matter.

Sanji hid a blade under his shirt as well as one by his thigh, while his mother did the same, and they went into town. It was still a bit early so there weren't many people on the streets, but none of that mattered. They had a job to do and Sanji would make sure to succeed.

Sanji was the one in the lead as this was his mission to prove himself to his family, and according to Sanji's calculations the target should be near the ruins in the middle of the island far away from the civilization. It took them a while to get to the location, and the entire way they spoke no words, which Sanji was grateful for. The last thing he needed now was his mother's poisonous encouragement.

They were now walking in a forest, and had this been a few months ago, Sanji would have loved to stop just to appreciate the change of surroundings, but in his current state of mind a tree was just a tree and nothing more. As the trees started to thin out, Sanji knew that they were approaching the location and he started to tread more carefully and made no sounds as he ventured closer to the ruins. When he got so close that the ground beneath him turned into stone, he moved gracefully between the tall structures to keep himself hidden from anyone who might spot him, and as he got to the centre of the ruin he saw one of the most magnificent things he had ever laid eyes upon. A rock.

Of course this wasn't your typical rock. First of all it was gigantic. It was probably the single biggest thing Sanji had ever seen. Of course the Germa Kingdom was bigger, but it was all made up of smaller things, so that was different. The rock also had vines all over it and moss growing on the sides, which made it seem like it was a part of the forest itself. But what really drew Sanji in was the writing on it. Sanji knew many languages, but this one he couldn't even recognise. It wasn't written in the common alphabet nor was it the symbols used in Wano. These were completely different, and it intrigued Sanji more than he wanted to admit. And then a thought hit Sanji.

Why was this person wanted again? She was an archaeologist, was she not? What was so wrong about that? He was about to ask his mother, but one look at her and he knew he was too deep in to start asking questions so he ignored the mysterious rock and continued onwards.

For a long time Sanji just searched, but then he found a small gathering of rubble and a person sitting in the shade of what had once been some sort of wall. Sanji had no doubt that this was the person he had been looking for. She had black hair that went just below her shoulders, a distinct nose and was quite tall for her age of seventeen. It looked like she hadn't yet noticed Sanji, but as soon as he stepped out from the rock he was currently hiding behind, she would see him, so Sanji calculated what route would take him to her the fastest.

He glanced at his mother before jumping into action and he knew she would be following to ensure that he got the job the done. The girl looked to him as soon as he had appeared from behind the rock and immediately started running in between the scattered rocks only taking her bag with her. Sanji chased her for a while, purposely leading her to a place where he knew she wouldn't be able to escape him.

She realized too late that she was trapped and when she turned around to run back the way she came, Sanji had already blocked her way. Sanji saw as she frantically looked around for somewhere to run, but there were no openings. She then crossed her arms and Sanji got mildly surprised when a hand sprouted from his shoulder, but he quickly drew the blade he had on his thigh and softly pressed it against the hand and watched it dissolve into pink petals.

"Seastone..." She gasped and sounded extremely defeated. She fell her to her knees. There was nothing she could do, but Sanji looked at her and felt... something. He couldn't describe the feeling, but he wanted nothing more than to tell her that she would be okay. He didn't like seeing her being scared. Being scared of him.

"Why do you go against the government?" Sanji asked without thinking and he felt his mother's stare at his back, but right now she didn't matter. All Sanji cared about was the frightened girl in front of him.

"I just want to learn history," she whispered and for a brief moment Sanji saw himself. He saw himself lying on that dungeon floor trying to make his father allow him to cook. And he saw his father turning his back on him and making his life a living hell. Sanji did not want to become his father.

"Sanji, my sweet child, finish the job." His mother's voice brought him back to reality and Sanji took a step closer to the girl, and in response she clung to her bag and moved even closer to the wall that trapped her.

"I don't want to hurt you." Sanji said, "But I have to bring you to my father. If you don't resist they won't hurt you at all and-"

"Kill her."

Sanji turned around to look at his mother and felt a twinge of fear. She wasn't smiling anymore.

"Why?" Sanji protested, "Father said to bring her to him. He didn't say to kill her!"

"What do you think they'll do to her once they catch her? Her wanted poster says _dead or alive_. The government doesn't care whether they get her in one or two pieces. Just kill her!"

Sanji took a step back. A step away from his mother. A step closer to the girl.

"She has done nothing wrong! How could I kill an innocent person?!" Sanji shouted. He had never before stood up to his mother because her poison only affected him, but now that another person was involved, Sanji couldn't stay silent.

"Nothing wrong? She went directly against the world government. She is the living incarnation of the citizens of Ohara!" She shouted the last sentence, but then seemed to regain her composure and a smile crept back on her face, "She is a demon, Sanji, and demons deserve to die."

She took a step closer to Sanji, "If you don't do it I will, but we wouldn't want to let down your father, now would we?" She took another step, "So do the job." Her voice was firm, but she was somehow still smiling and Sanji gripped his knife tight. He had to do it.

He turned back to the girl. She was crying, but she didn't say anything. Something about the look in her eyes told Sanji that she had been expecting this. He got closer to her, so close that he could hear her ragged breath, and her silent whispers of names he didn't know.

"I think you're right, mother." Sanji said slowly, "Demons deserve to die, but I don't think she is a demon. I think she's just scared." _Just like me._

"That's what she wants you to think, my sweet boy, demons lie and manipulate."

"Yes, they do." He dropped the knife he was holding and kicked it lightly towards the girl, encouraging her to take it. She didn't. She just looked at it and then she looked at him, confused.

"Sanji." He could hear her coming closer. She was right behind him. And Sanji’s eyes grew cold. He could feel her icy breath on his neck and he felt his entire body fill with a confidence that felt both right and wrong and more intense than anything he had felt for months. He felt himself surrender to muscle memory as his vision grew unfocused, and his body knew what was about to happen long before his mind had caught up with it.

"Demons deserve to die..." Sanji whispered and slowly moved to unsheathe the knife secured under his shirt, "I'm sorry mother."

Sanji spun around quickly and dove the knife straight through her heart just like he had practiced on all those dummies made of straw and red paint. She fell backwards and Sanji climbed on top of her, continuing to drive the knife deeper and deeper in. The blood was staining her white dress, but the colours all melted together in Sanji's blurry vision.

"You... you monster," she breathed underneath him, "Curse... you...". When Sanji's tears hit her face the life left her blue eyes.

It took Sanji a while to understand just what he had done, and when he understood the shock hit him hard. "Mother..." He whispered, but she didn't answer, "Mother! Mother, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Sanji apologized over and over, still crying over his mother's dead body. Her blood was starting to stain his clothes and his skin. It was still warm and Sanji screamed in agony. This wasn't what he wanted. This wasn't what was supposed to happen.

"You should go," a voice suddenly said and Sanji looked frightened at the girl who had spoken to him. It was like their positions had suddenly switched.

"I can't leave her," Sanji sobbed and the girl looked at him with kind eyes.

"Then take her with you. Do you know anyone close by?" Sanji didn't think twice about why this girl had so quickly gone from being scared by him to taking care of him.

"The docks..." Sanji mumbled, and she smiled, although it did look a little bit forced.

"Can you carry her?" Sanji nodded, "Then take her there."

"Why are you helping me," Sanji asked through his tears.

"You saved my life. If you hadn't done what you did, your mother... she would have killed me."

Sanji looked back at his mother. Her eyes were still open and the blood was still spilling. More tears pressed on and Sanji suddenly found himself in a warm embrace. He couldn't quite understand the action as no one had ever hugged him before, but he suddenly felt much warmer, much safer.

"You're a good person. In this world, good people suffer the most. I learned that the hard way and so have you."

As she let go of him, Sanji asked her one more question: "Where will you go?"

"... I don't know, " she confessed, "This was the last place I knew I could find the information I needed, yet it seems that this wasn't what I was looking for either." She smiled again, but this time she looked sad.

"Go to the Grand Line," Sanji said suddenly and looked at her. A plan was forming in his head. Now that he had killed her to save this girl, he wanted her to keep living. To keep searching for whatever she wanted to find, "You'll be harder to track there and I'm sure you could find out where to go next."

"How will I ever make it there?" She said and looked at the ground, "No matter where I go, they follow me, I can't escape the world." She looked like she was close to giving up, but Sanji couldn't allow that and looked her straight in the eyes.

"I'll deal with them. I'll lie and say you headed further north. Cross Reverse Mountain in two weeks and I promise, they won't catch you."

A single tear fell down her cheek and she smiled, "Thank you."

"Now go." Sanji pushed her away and she ran.

Sanji turned his attention back to his mother, lifted her up and went back to the docks. Sanji was no longer sad, no longer lost and no longer scared. He had a purpose. Protect Nico Robin and get her safely out of the North.


	2. Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whatever emotional turmoil Sanji is bottling up inside, he sets aside for his newfound sense of duty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite appearances, this is chapter is mostly set up for the next chapter... Enjoy.

The mission had failed, and in his father's eyes, the worst possible outcome had been realized. Nico Robin had once again escaped the clutches of the World Government, his wife had been killed, yet his failure of a son had somehow survived the whole ordeal. Of course, Sanji was smart enough to not tell his father what had actually occurred that day. If the truth was ever revealed, Sanji would not have long to live, and for the first time in his life, he had a reason, a purpose, to stay alive.

 

This was the story he had told his father:

Pirates had attacked, they'd been outnumbered, their enemies had been strong, and in the spur of the moment his mother had jumped to protect him, thus sacrificing herself for him. Sanji knew that his mother would never in her life have chosen to let him live if it meant giving her life. However, she wasn't there to defend herself, and if his father, by some miracle, believed that his wife, his wife who loved so dearly, had given her life to keep Sanji alive, Sanji was sure that his father would at least think twice about punishing him.

 

Of course telling a story, however believable it may be, would never be enough to convince his father, so Sanji had taken countermeasures and made his story as credible as possible. Before arriving to the docks, where their men were waiting for them, Sanji had purposely given both himself, and his mother's body a painful amount of cuts and bruises to make it look like they had been in a dangerous fight. After having returned with his dead mother, he had excused himself from the crew, and asked for some time alone to mourn over his loss. He had attempted to cry to make it more believable, but the tears wouldn't come, so he did whatever he could to hide his face. The crew, sympathising with Sanji, gave him a few hours before he was told that they had to set sail. They would have to find a coffin for his mother anyway, so he was free to do what he wanted in the meantime.

 

Sanji had wasted no time, and as soon as he was out of the sight of the crew he had run to the other side of the island. Sanji had hoped, hoped with all his might, that he would find what he was looking for, and he had been in luck. On the other side of the island, hidden safely away from the sights of strangers passing by, but completely exposed to the person looking for it, was a pirate ship. And where there was a pirate ship, there was bound to be pirates.

 

Sanji had scouted the ship for awhile before deciding to take action. It had been easier to deal with the pirates than he had first anticipated since they had all been pretty drunk. Sanji had charged onto deck, a knife in each hand, and cut down the pirates. He hadn't killed any of them, and if they got treated in time, they wouldn't die. Sanji just wanted to make it look like they had been in close combat, but come out as victors in the end. When he had dealt with the random pirates, he went to the captain, who had looked proper scared with a bottle of rum in one hand, and a sword in the other. Sanji had slowly approached him, calmly forced the sword out of his hand and put his knife to his throat. He had then made an empty, yet very convincing threat, and made the pirate captain do as he asked. 

 

Spread a rumour that he had fought a female assassin and her son, and then brutally killed the woman in front of the boy. Of course the pirate captain would never understand the demand, nor the fact that he would probably be killed by the Germa 66 for a crime he didn't commit, but Sanji was fine with it. They were pirates after all. They had probably committed a number of crimes for which they deserved death or imprisonment for life, and out of the options, death was probably the better one. Sanji had heard rumours about Impel Down, and he'd much rather die than get tortured there.

 

After he had dealt with the pirates, Sanji had stolen some clothes in town, changed his disguise, and gone around spreading rumours. He made sure to change everything a little, because rumours seldom stayed the same after being told so many times, but he made sure to keep the part about the woman protecting her son as the most important part of his story. He changed where he had the information from every time though. Sometimes he'd say he'd overheard the very pirates who had done it talking and bragging about it, sometimes he had heard it from a random mercenary and sometimes his 'parents' had been talking about it over breakfast.

Sanji had then changed back into his bloodied outfit from earlier and returned to the ship that would take him back to the Germa Kingdom. The voyage had been over in an instant, and while Sanji had spent the entire time training or 'mourning' over the death of his oh-so-lovely mother, he didn't feel any stronger, and he was beginning to suspect that the people around him were starting see through his act.

 

He told his father the tragic tale of what had happened all while acting like he was on the brink of tears, yet holding it back to maintain a strong front, when in reality he was struggling to look sad, since his mind was in a completely different place. As soon as he had secured his own safety, at least for now, it was time to act on his promise to Nico Robin. He had just about a week before she would venture over the Red Line and it was important to lure the government away from her during that time.

 

Sanji had decided to spread more rumours around to whoever passed close enough by their floating kingdom. It was easy, almost too easy, for Sanji to reach pirates, sailors, or whoever came across and start rumours. If the people were drunk enough he could just outright tell them the lies, and they wouldn't question why a boy was suddenly on their ship, but if they weren't he'd just spread the rumour in other ways. He'd feign letters, whisper to people who were somewhere between being asleep and awake, or he'd hide a bounty poster with her 'rumoured' location on it. 

 

But subtly spreading rumours would never be enough, so this time he also planted seeds of information into his father's paperwork. It wasn't the most difficult thing to steal a letter sent from Marine Headquarters concerning Nico Robin, and add a little piece of information concerning her whereabouts. So with the information his father thought he had gotten from the Government and the various rumours floating about, the Germa 66 was quick to act. With the Vinsmokes at the head of the operation, the marine bases from around the North Blue soon moved towards the location Sanji had planned for them all to go to, while Nico Robin was hopefully moving closer to Reverse Mountain. It was a perfect plan, and no one would ever be able to trace any of this information back to Sanji.

 

The Vinsmokes soon reached the island Sanji had chosen for his diversion. He had been very careful when choosing, and the island was perfect for what he wanted to do. The island was deserted and had been so for many years due to the eruption of a volcano that had destroyed almost everything. However, many years ago the civilization had been rich in culture and history, and remains of that past were rumoured to still exist, and wouldn't that be a paradise for a archaeologist?

 

The Germa 66 never worked directly with the World Government or the marines, since the powerful army they commanded was supposedly mythical, and why would the Government allow that much power to a family who weren't all that easy to control. They knew the Vinsmokes were powerful, but just how much power they had was kept secret from them, and Sanji's father was sure to keep it that way. It was therefore the Vinsmokes themselves who set foot on the island, while the marines kept their distance and had decided to fortify their strongholds surrounding the island, so that in the event that Nico Robin should escape from the Vinsmokes, she would have nowhere to run.

 

Sanji had been forced to join in on this mission, as it was his fault that they were here in the first place, but Sanji didn't mind. He had been tasked with guarding the eastern side of the island, and with him he had a few of the Germa 66 soldiers, including his harsh teacher. Sanji didn't really expect anything to happen, but when a band of... was it pirates or bounty hunters? Either way, a band of people, most likely criminals of some sort, were running towards them, weapons in hand and though Sanji knew that there was no reason to fight, he prepared himself for battle.

 

Their enemies were strong, and had Sanji been alone, he would have had his ass handed to him, but fortunately he wasn't and it was easy for him to take advantage of that. He knew that his father would never approve if Sanji didn't fight and took at least a few of these people down, but his father also had nothing against being underhanded. So Sanji, being a child and therefore not much of a threat, shifted the attention away from himself and onto the people who looked much tougher than him, and took down his enemies when they were least expecting it. He felt a slighty bad doing it, but if they were all going to get defeated anyway, then he might as well make sure that he wasn't punished along with them.

 

When the amount of opponents around them had thinned out quite a lot, and the ones that were left standing were almost completely exhausted, Sanji thought that it would be safe to start taking them on in a more fair fight. Also, in that way, when his stern teacher was actually paying attention to what he was doing, he could look like he was fighting bravely for the family. Sanji took a couple of people out quite easily by having both speed and size on his side and suddenly he found himself face to face with a female opponent. Sanji charged at her like he had done with the others before her. Why should it matter that she was a woman? She looked as desperate and mad as her fellow criminals. Her hair was wild, her clothes ragged and torn, she had some scars to show on her skin which was far from clean, yet when Sanji looked into her blue eyes, he hesitated. 

 

It was only for a moment and he hastily brought up his blade to defend himself when she swung her sword at him. He then ran around her before she could react and this time he didn't even look at her eyes, yet he still hesitated. He couldn't do it. The closer his blade got to the woman in front of him, the stronger her words echoed in his mind.  _ For me.  _ Even with his mother gone from this world, she was still there, whispering her poisonous words in his ear.

 

He tried to push the words away and charged at the woman, blade in clutched in his hands in front of him. She let out a frustrated scream and got ready to swing her sword once again, but once again there eyes locked, and Sanji stopped dead in his tracks. What was wrong with him. This woman would kill him. Maybe he should just accept death as it came for him...

 

Sanji didn't even flinch when a sword plunged through the woman and killed her on the spot. The soldier who had done the deed didn't spare a single glance at Sanji and returned to fighting the rest of their opponents. Sanji took a last look at the dead woman before he charged at the closest man with all his might. Maybe today wouldn’t be the day he died after all. Sanji could only imagine what cruel fate awaited him in the future as he kept on fighting.

 

The fight was soon over, yet when Sanji looked at his bloodied hand a terrifying realization hit him. He couldn't get rid of her. He glanced at the dead woman again, and despite there be no physical resemblance, all he could see was her. Her glaring at her with those blue eyes, spouting poison to make him fo her bidding. The fear that he thought had died with her slowly crept back into his mind. And for the first time in weeks, Sanji was scared. Scared of a ghost that he would never get rid of.

 

It wasn't long after that Sanji and the men he was with received word from his father that the information they had gotten were either wrong or they had been too late. In any case Nico Robin wasn't to be found on the island. If everything was going according to Sanji's plan, Nico Robin should have entered the Grand Line by now. There was nothing more that Sanji could do for her.

 

* * *

 

More weeks passed. Nothing really happened. Sanji trained with his teacher and slowly improved. Now that he no longer had Nico Robin's survival to motivate him, he once again found it hard to see what exactly he was supposed to get stronger for. His father wasn't blind to this unfortunate turn, but he never sent Sanji back to the dungeons. Perhaps in respect for his mother. That didn't stop the punishments though. Although Sanji's father didn't really do much, his siblings had somehow gotten much worse.

 

Only months ago they would have kept their torments and vicious acts from their father, and if they were ever caught by a servant in the act, they would pay them off. But now they no longer cared. They'd beat him up during practice, they'd steal his food and destroy his belongings. Once or twice their father had walked past, but he hadn't even bothered to look at them, and Sanji had been left at his brothers' mercy.

 

But even this wasn't anything compared to Reiju. Sanji had never really liked her, but he had put her in the same category as his brothers, but now... Now that their mother was gone, it was like Reiju was slowly turning into her. Slowly, but surely. Before... everything had changed, Reiju wouldn't have thought twice about joining her brothers in bullying Sanji, and the first time Reiju wasn't there with them Sanji had been happy. He'd been happy because she was the alpha, and her not being there meant that everything was a little less painful.

 

Yet that same evening, when Sanji had gone back to his room with bruises and cuts all over his body, he had found her sitting on his bed. She had told him to come sit beside him. He had obeyed, afraid of what would happen if he did not. She had cleaned his wounds, while smiling and keeping her blue eyes on him. She had taken his hand. She had told him that he was strong for enduring his brothers' torments. And suddenly Sanji was back with his mother. He was no longer seeing Reiju's face, no longer hearing her words, but he could feel her. Her touch was like fire on his skin, yet he dared not retreat his hand. He was in pain, but he was frozen with fear. What could he do? At some point she had left, and Sanji's body shot down on the spot. The next morning he woke up on the floor.

 

From that day onwards Sanji had avoided Reiju the best he could, but it was almost impossible. Every gaze from her was fire, every word was poison and each smile was a knife to the heart. Sanji could feel himself falling apart. He had no outlet, no place of comfort, no one to rely on, and it was slowly killing him. But then came the end of the summer and a small light was lit in Sanji's dark world. The head chef was retiring. A trivial, unimportant event for most, but for Sanji the announcement was life changing.

 

He dared not act immediately, so he waited. Patiently. Before entering the kitchen, Sanji noted how the quality of the food had changed. They had always eaten good food, but Sanji had never had anything like this before. It was like the world of cooking expanded a hundredfold, and the life inside Sanji which had almost completely vanished was restored. The new head chef turned out to be quite the talker too, and when presenting the food they would be eating with every meal, he was very good at telling them where everything had come from. Sanji noted how he tended to use ingredients from all over the world, rather than just from the North.

 

Sanji waited three weeks before he acted. It was late night. His father had taken Ichiji and Niji on a diplomatic mission, Reiju was planning some sort of battle strategy, and Yonji was down with a flu. It was all perfect. Sanji listed down to the kitchens, and found that a lock had been placed on the door. Probably to keep him out, but just because Sanji hated his life didn't mean that he never learned anything, and it had been years since he had perfected opening a door without a key. Sanji was soon inside, and the first thing he noticed was that the kitchen was different.

 

There were more fridges. The counters had been moved around to make more room for rapid movements. There were now tools hanging from the ceiling and it seemed that most of the equipment was now of better quality. Sanji was excited, but it had been awhile since he had been in a kitchen, so he decided to make something as simple as bread. Of course bread took a long time to make, but that was the point. It was simple, and he would enjoy it for longer.

 

He took his time with the dough, and when it was time to put it aside, Sanji explored. He pulled out drawers and opened all the cupboards just to examine any new tools they might have acquired. In the end what caught his eye was a book. It wasn't a recipe book, it was more of a theoretical cooking book. It discussed how flavours came together and how it was often very different things that made the best flavours, which was why sweet and sour was such a good combination. In the end, it all lead up to the All Blue which caught Sanji’s attention immediately. It discussed the possibilities that came with getting fish from both the North and the South and combining their unique flavours. In the cold North the fish had a rich, yet mellow flavour, but in the South it was more pungent and if not handled right, southern fish could easily overwhelm anything it came into contact with. As much as Sanji wanted to keep the book, he had learned from his mistakes, and when it was time to finish baking the bread he made sure to put it back exactly where he had found it.

 

The baking was over quicker than Sanji liked, but in the end he had made a bread that tasted amazing, and there were no traces that he had ever been in the kitchen. And with the bread in his hands, Sanji ran back to his room only to get a few hours of sleep.

 

Sanji didn't wake to a maid opening the curtains, but to the bells ringing. The bells only ever ringed for three reasons: The first one was in the occasion that someone died. The bells would be loud, but there would only be six rings in a minute. The second reason was a wedding. In this case the bell would ring constantly during the ceremony and the third reason was when they were approaching an island. Sanji counted. Three rings. A pause. Three rings. A pause. There was an island ahead. And since his father wasn't with them, they'd probably stay until he returned.

 

Getting out of practice had never been easier, and Sanji snuck out of their kingdom. He roamed the streets for some time, but eventually decided to explore the island further. Most of the island was populated, and there wasn't a long walk between the houses furthest apart. The island itself was also rather small, and Sanji soon made it to the opposite side of where he had arrived. And it was stunning. Sanji had come across a beach. A beach with snow as white as sand, and water so clean that Sanji could see right through it and found a diverse marine life inhabited so close to him. Sanji couldn't resist. With no one in sight and not a care in the world Sanji stripped and let the water engulf him. And right in that moment, surrounded by the ocean which muffled out all sound and swimming among fish of vibrant colours, Sanji was free.

 

Sanji stayed by the beach until sundown, and then went straight back to the small part of the Germa Kingdom he was staying on. Dinner was fairly awkward as it was just him and Reiju. Yonji was still not feeling too well, and in the silence, Sanji focused solely on the food. It was good. One day he wanted to be good enough to make food like this. But that was a far and distant dream, and it would probably remain a dream. Reiju said nothing to him, which Sanji was thankful for, and he was soon back in his room where he went out as a light.

 

The next day, Sanji stayed to practice his sword fighting. He didn't want to disappear too much after all. He practised alone, but he made sure that he was seen doing it. He did it in a place which faced the island though. It didn't make much of a difference to him, but Sanji found comfort in looking at the townspeople going about their lives. Living in a fortress on a sailing snail surrounded by the same people could easily drive a person insane. Especially if you didn't like the people, as was Sanji's case. Therefore seeing strangers had a calming effect and kept Sanji from going completely insane… or so he’d like to think as he found himself enjoy seeing a woman buying some fish in the harbour.

 

On the third day Sanji went back to town. This time he brought his bread which he had made three nights earlier. It had been months since Sanji had shared his cooking with others and Yu-chan had always said that the greatest joy of cooking was sharing. Sanji didn't have to go far before he met a woman and her child begging on the streets.

 

"Please sir," the woman said, "Could you spare some change for food?" Both of them looked like they hadn’t seen a proper meal in a long time and Sanji smiled at them.

 

"I don't have any money, but what about this bread?" He gave them the food and the child's eyes lit up.

 

"Bread!" The child exclaimed and the woman looked at the bread, and then back at Sanji.

 

"Can we really take it?" She asked in shock.

 

"Of course. You just have to tell me how it tastes." Sanji requested.

 

The woman took the bread and split it in half. She gave the bigger piece to her child. They both took a bite. For a brief moment none of them spoke, but then the woman started crying. First Sanji was worried, but then…

 

"It's the best thing I've ever tasted. Thank you." She said through her tears and Sanji had, truly, never been happier. This was the joy Yu-chan had been talking about. Sanji knew the tears weren't shed because of the bread. They were shed because he had shared his food. And then something clicked in Sanji. He couldn't spend his entire life fighting, not when he could be cooking. Fighting made people sad. Food made them happy. Sanji wanted to make people happy.

 

Sanji smiled at the two of them one last time before he turned around to make his way back to the fortress, but stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed his father staring straight at him. Of course, they would have no proof that Sanji had made the bread, but feeding the... less fortunate was probably just as bad in his father's eyes. Sanji braced himself for the worst, but it never came. His father's gaze lingered for only a moment before he turned his back on him and walked away. Was that it?

 

Sanji followed his father soon after, but didn't see him again until dinner came around. And nothing happened. His father told them that they would be leaving the island as soon as the sun rose again. He asked if Yonji had recovered from his illness. He spoke with Reiju about whatever she had been doing, while informing them that neither Ichiji nor Niji were attending dinner because they were resting. He didn't really say anything to Sanji, but getting ignored was something Sanji rather enjoyed.

 

The last thing their father told them before dismissing them was that they had a new destination outside the North Blue, and to get there they wouldn't use their usual snail ships. Snail ships weren't actually the official name for them, but Sanji had conditioned himself to call them that because when he was younger he had found that funny - his parents had not thought the same. Their father didn't tell them their destination, but Sanji knew that the only reason that he was coming with them was because his father didn't trust him to be alone for such a long period of time.

 

And so their journey began. At every island they came across, Sanji gave some of his cooking to various people in need, and a few times he had professional chefs give him pointers, and it came to a point where every member of his family knew about this. And while that just gave his siblings more excuses to beat him up, his father never attempted to stop him.

 

They abandoned their snail ship a week before they reached the Red Line. They docked at an island and Sanji watched as the snail swam away from them. It was a weird sight. The six of them stayed at a hotel for a couple of days, and used the down time to practice. In that regard nothing had really changed. They were then picked up by a vice-admiral, and a battleship took them to their destination: The Holy Land, Mariejoa. The Vinsmokes were to attend this year's reverie, and while children weren't allowed at the meetings, there would be other small princes and princesses, and making alliances was a big part of maintaining a powerful kingdom. Friendly relations, future marriage arrangements, scouting potential enemies, these were all important to the Vinsmokes, and they would make sure to make the most of this world meeting.

 

They crossed the Calm Belt and arrived at the marine stronghold, G-1, located in the New World before long. From there they were escorted to the Holy Land. They arrived in the morning, and the place was covered with a thin mist, which just added to the magic of the place. Even if the people living here were the worst scum the world had to offer, the place itself was beautiful. They were far above the clouds, and as the mist slowly disappeared then sun broke through and illuminated everything. The Holy Land consisted of an enormous white castle surrounded by a garden so big that Sanji couldn't tell where it ended and where it began. The only downside to this place was that the ocean was so far away. Even if Sanji were to peek over the edge of the Red Line, the only sight that would meet him would be a blanket of white clouds. Sanji loved the ocean and he wasn't sure how long he could live without it.

 

The Vinsmokes were lead to the rooms which they would be residing in during their stay. Sanji was a little dissatisfied when it was revealed that he had to share rooms with Yonji, but at the very least, he was the easiest person for Sanji to get around. Yonji wasn't all that bright after all. Reiju was the only one of the children to get her own room. Sanji couldn't figure out if it was because she was a girl or the oldest. Their father got a room on a completely different floor, where all the leaders would have their quarters as well.

 

Sanji spent the rest of the day by a pond in the garden. The reverie was set to start the following day, and Sanji could easily observe all the newly arrived from his position. He made it a game to name as many families as he could, and was proud of himself when he recognized most of the flags immediately. The first family to arrive was the Riku family from the New World nation, Dressrosa. It's representatives were the King, Dold III, and his youngest daughter, Viola. If Sanji remembered correctly, the eldest daughter and heir had died a couple of years ago. Their country was a poor, yet peaceful one known for its exotic cuisine and passionate women. Sanji would love to visit it someday.

 

The next arrival that caught Sanji's eye was the representative from Drum Kingdom, Wapol. Yet another king from the Grand Line, yet completely opposite to the king of Dressrosa. As far as Sanji knew the king had no children, and to be honest, what woman would ever venture close to that man? The country was located on a Winter Island, yet Sanji still found the dead bear on Wapol's shoulders distasteful.

 

The last family to arrive that day was the Nefeltari family. The King, Nefeltari Cobra, and his only child and daughter Vivi were the representatives of the Sandy Kingdom Alabasta. Their country was located on a Summer Island not far from Drum, and from what Sanji had read it was vastly different from the North Blue where he had grown up. It was another place Sanji would like to visit someday. He could only imagine living in a place that had never seen snow, and wondered what it would be like to warm up under the desert sun after a cold night.

 

Sanji was very well aware that the only purpose his father still found in him was to marry him off. And, honestly, Sanji wasn't too much against that idea. He'd marry some princess, and live in her kingdom to rule... or something. Of course, Sanji would prefer to marry a kind girl, but judging from the princesses that had arrived at the Reverie, there was a greater chance of marrying a mean one. An example of a girl such as this was the princess Sally of the Goa Kingdom in East Blue. From the moment she had arrived and until Sanji could no longer hear her, she had been complaining. First the servants hadn't been holding her bags properly. Then she was thirsty. Then there wasn't enough ice in the water. Then there was too much ice. At some point she had complained about the position of the sun, and Sanji silently thanked the Gods that none of his siblings were like that. Beating him up was one thing, but hearing a person constantly nag and complain would have driven him mad before long. Then evening came, and it was time to eat.

 

For a prince who had been raised on proper table manners, and found meals to be the important time in the day, dinner could only be described as downright chaotic. Sanji was eating with all the members of royal families that weren't actually attending the meetings, and with representatives from more than one hundred and seventy countries, there were many people. And to make it even worse, many of them were quite young. Sanji was among the youngest there. Princess Vivi of Alabasta was probably the youngest, being only six years old. Yet the sand princess was one of the most mature and dignified people there. People were yelling to converse with people who sat far away, and as a result even people who sat close would have to yell to each other to drown out the noise. More than once Sanji saw bread pieces fly from one end of the incredibly large table to the other, and he found himself constantly wiping stuff off of his face and clothes. 

 

Sanji was seated between some prince of a southern family a couple of years older than him, and the ever loving princess Sally. Sanji tried his very best to make conversation with the prince, but there were two problems with this. First, the prince was the least talkative person Sanji had ever met. Not that Sanji had met a whole lot of people, but this was ridiculous. He'd only ever answer with one-word replies and he never engaged in conversation. The second problem was of course the princess, who unlike prince silent, was super talkative and wouldn't leave Sanji alone.

 

At first she asked a lot of question which ranged from fairly normal ones like: ‘when’s your birthday’, but over the duration of the chaotic dinner, the questions got weirder and at some point she yelled into his ear: ‘which body part do you wash first!?’. She also tried to feed him some of her soup, which Sanji - first kindly and then persistently - asked her to please stop doing. At some time just before dessert was served, she seemed to catch onto his disinterest and started asking about his brothers instead. Sanji couldn’t exactly say he appreciated the new topic, but at the very least she had stopped trying to permanently latch onto his arm like a weird octopus.

 

Although Sanji was getting increasingly stressed out by the amount of people, the chaotic eating environment and Princess Annoying, he was very tempted to do a small leap of victory when a spoonful of pudding landed in Sally’s hair, and she turned her attention towards the offender. She was still talking and complaining an awful lot, but Sanji was no longer required to pay attention to it. He tried to strike up another conversation with the Southern Prince just to make an effort at being sociable, but it was a lost cause. He could only be grateful that Princess Sally had not finished complaining by the time dinner ended.

 

When Sanji arrived to his designated room, Yonji was already there.

 

"Everyone here is an idiot," said the idiot, and Sanji had to resist rolling his eyes.

 

"What did you expect?" Sanji retorted, and made his way to the bed not currently occupied by Yonji. He just wanted to sleep.

 

"I expected royals to act like royals!" Yonji said in the most stuck up manner he'd ever heard him talk. Maybe the flu had done more damage to his brain than they thought?

"So you're saying that always wanting things to go your way isn't how royals usually act?" Being tired and having dealt with Princess Complain for an entire five course meal had really agitated Sanji.

 

Yonji glared at him, but Sanji didn't care too much and got ready for bed. If Yonji hadn't been stronger than him, Sanji would probably have started a fight, just because. On the other hand, Yonji would probably have started a fight had he not been alone. He was strong, but he wasn't one to take the initiative. Sanji was grateful for that.

 

The next morning was day one of the Reverie. Apparently only dinner was eaten with other people, and Sanji was woken to one his usual maids bringing him and Yonji breakfast. Another good thing about being here was that they had been forbidden from training. Instead they had been told to study. The Holy Land had the biggest library in the world, and except for a few sections, all books were available to people of royal blood. So after breakfast Sanji went to the library.

 

As it was a unique opportunity, Sanji was not surprised when he found about fifty people reading in the quiet halls. Sanji expected that his time would be spent either in here or it'd be spent socializing. Both Niji and Yonji had completely neglected the studying part, and never even entered the library. Reiju had apparently borrowed a couple of books the day they had arrived and was reading before bed, while Ichiji was actually in the library. Two days passed with Sanji just reading.

* * *

 

 

On the third day of the Reverie, Sanji decided to go to the gardens again. It was, as always, a lovely sunny day, and he really needed to be near water. He had borrowed a book called  _ Cultures of the World,  _ and was flipping through the cooking sections, when someone arrived. A crew of people were carrying boxes into the castle, and Sanji got a little closer to find out what it was about. It turned out not to be anything exciting. They were simply delivering food and they would be leaving again as soon as the job was over. Disappointed, Sanji went back to his room.

Yonji wasn't back yet which was a pleasant surprise. Sanji collapsed on his bed, book still in hand, and let his mind wander. Sanji found himself thinking about the last year of his life, which had been eventful to say the least. Why was that, he wondered. Why this year? Sanji knew why. It was because, for the first time in his life, he had made decisions for himself. He had decided to go into the kitchens, he had decided to save Nico Robin rather than kill her, he had decided to continue studying cooking even when his father was so against it. And even though as much bad as good had happened in that year, Sanji would never again go back to letting his father, his sister or his brothers decide for him.

 

And as Sanji was thinking about how decisions made by himself could drastically change his life, he thought of making another decision. His father had taken him with them, because he didn't trust for Sanji to stay in the Germa Kingdom alone. Yet ever since arriving, Sanji had hardly seen his family, and wasn't that the perfect opportunity? Sanji knew that he could never get what he wanted if he stayed with his family, and would they really miss him that much? The answer was no. Sanji smiled to himself. It was bold, it was reckless, and it was brilliant. If it didn't work he would be in for a world of pain, but if it did. If by any chance this worked, Sanji's life would change forever.

 

The next morning Sanji went to the library again. He borrowed a few books. Although it wasn't really borrowing if you never planned to give them back, was it? Sanji wasn't stupid. He knew that running away would mean that he'd have to live by himself, and though he had a little money, it wasn't enough. Books, however, they could be sold, and for quite high prizes as well. It would work out somehow.

 

Sanji then went back to the gardens, and found a place that sheltered him perfectly from anyone that might look in his direction, but allowed him to take notice of all newcomers to the Holy Land. For a long time nothing happened, but suddenly Sanji heard some rustling behind him. He turned around quickly, momentarily fearing that he'd already been discovered, but then found himself face to face with the desert princess, Nefeltari Vivi.

 

"What are you doing?" She asked innocently and smiled at him. He needed to find a good lie.

 

"I'm playing a game," Sanji said as it was the first thing he thought of. Not the best lie.

 

"What kind of game?"

 

"Um, Hide and Seek."

 

"Who are you playing with?"

 

"My... brothers."

 

"I thought you didn't get along with your brothers?"

 

Silence. As it turned out, the princess was quite perceptive, and Sanji was at a loss for words. She looked at him, then looked at his bag and then back at him.

 

"Are you running away?" She asked, still looking innocent.

 

"I- uh," Should he lie, or tell her the truth?

 

"You are, aren't you?" Sanji decided to not confirm or deny anything, "I won't tell anyone."

 

This puzzled Sanji, "Why? You don't owe me anything."

 

"That doesn't matter. It's your life."

 

Sanji could only look at her. She smiled at him.

"So, what are we waiting for?" She took her eyes off him and looked in the direction Sanji had been staring at before she had arrived, even though she didn’t know what she was supposed to be looking for.

 

"People delivering food."

 

They sat together for a while, eyes on the entrance, then she spoke again.

 

"Can I ask you something?"

 

"Sure," Sanji didn't really see how much more information he had to give her, since she already seemed to know everything.

 

"Why don't you like your family?"

 

"Why do you think I don't like them?" Sanji said a little defensively, though there really was no point in denying it.

 

"Isn't that why you are running away?"

 

"I suppose..." Sanji wasn't actually sure why he was running away. He didn't like his family, but he had lived with them for so long, so why not continue down that path. It probably all came back to making decisions for himself, "I just want to be in control of my own life."

 

"Oh..." She breathed and looked at him with big eyes. After a little pause she spoke again. She was just too curious, "You still haven't answered my question."

 

"There is something I want to do, but my father won't allow it," Sanji decided to say. He wasn't really comfortable with sharing his entire life story with this girl no matter how nice she was.

 

She seemed satisfied with the answer and they went back to looking at the entrance. They didn't have to wait long before someone appeared and soon there were people going back and forth with big wooden boxes.

 

"How are you going to do it?"

 

"I'll hide in one of those boxes," Sanji said determined. The boxes being carried inside contained food, while the boxes being carried outside contained empty bottles or other waste.

 

"Hmm..." She sounded sceptical, and just as Sanji took his eyes off her, he heard her move and before he knew it she was talking to the people carrying the boxes.

 

Sanji was ready to slap himself, but when the princess started sending him signals behind her back, it suddenly made sense. She was helping him by distracting the workers. Sanji ventured as close as he could while still hidden by bushes and flowers, and waited for the right time to move. The princess gave him that time. She suddenly screamed, and as a princess, it was the duty of the people to come to her aid, and everyone turned to look at her. Sanji saw her explaining something, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. It didn't matter though, no one was looking and Sanji moved.

 

He chose the first box he got to as there was no time to waste and climbed inside it. It was filled with fish bones, innards and other things which Sanji preferred not to think about. The smell was horrid and he had to do his very best to not throw up. It wasn't long after that he felt the box beginning to move.

 

"Wasn't this box lighter before," he heard someone grunt and Sanji instinctively closed his eyes, put a hand to his mouth and did his very best not to move or make any sounds.

 

"Maybe you're just losing muscle?" Another teased.

 

"Are you saying that I'm weak?!"

 

"No no, you are pretty strong for your age," the person laughed.

 

"And now you're calling me old? Shouldn't you show more respect for your elders?"

 

"Of course, I'm sorry. What are you thinking of doing when you retire?"

 

They began laughing and the box got shoved around more than Sanji liked. At some point the box was put down, but Sanji dared not move. He waited. He waited while all the boxes were being lowered from the Holy Land to the sea beneath them. He waited while the boxes were once again moved and put away on another ship. He waited until he was sure he was alone. Until he could feel the rocking of the waves beneath him. Until the only sound left was his own breathing. Only then did he dare lift open the box and take a look around.

 

It was dark. Almost too dark for Sanji to see, but there was a single window that allowed a dim light into the room. There were boxes everywhere, and Sanji was lucky that his box had been the one on top of other boxes. Wanting to get out of the fish he had been sitting in for hours, Sanji slowly slipped out, careful to not make any sound. The fish stench followed him around, and he desperately wanted to change out of his clothes, but beggars can't be choosers after all, so had to make do. There was only one door out of the room. Sanji pressed his ear against the exit, trying to pick up any sounds. He then tried his best to look through the gap between the door and the floor, and decided that it was probably safe to go outside. The door wasn't locked, not that it would have made any difference, but it did make it a little easier to sneak out.

 

The bright light in the hall blinded Sanji for a moment, but as soon as he got used to it he found that he had no choice but to go forward. Sanji slowly listed down the hallway which was empty except for him and the dozens upon dozens of oil lamps that kept the place brighter than Sanji thought was necessary. By the end of the hallway he was met with a choice. Left or right? And then Sanji had a thought. Where was he going? He had just wanted to get out of the smelly box, and now he was roaming around on some ship. When his stomach growled Sanji sighed and started looking for the kitchen.

 

He decided to turn right, and continued down another hallway. This time there were a lot of doors, but only to his right, and Sanji imagined that these doors were mostly sleeping quarters. Sanji had wanted to get past these rooms quietly, but suddenly the ship tilted and Sanji was literally slammed into a door so hard that it opened. But his streak of luck was continuing. This wasn't a sleeping quarter. This was a storage room.

 

Looking around, Sanji found mostly cleaning tools, but he also found some clothes. Granted, most of it was way too big for him, but he could make it work. Sanji found the smallest sizes of whatever this was and with a scissor he had found in a box he adjusted. Stripping himself of his fishy outfit and slipping into his new clothes, he found that it was still relatively baggy, and the pants were dangerously close to sliding down. To counteract this he found a long piece of cloth and tied it around his waist, keeping everything together. Sanji was aware that he was now looking like a walking potato sack, but he didn't smell of fish anymore. Not that much at least. His hair was still weirdly wet, and his skin had some strange marks, but it worked. He also stole a bag for his stolen books, since the one he had brought was also very fishy at this point. Sanji was quite pleased with the outcome as he shoved his used clothes into a far corner, leaving almost no visible trace behind. If anything with his clothes changed, he looked nothing like a prince.

 

Sanji carefully slipped out of the storage room and continued down the hallway. The ship was still moving and rocking a whole lot, but after the initial surprise, Sanji wasn't too concerned about it. He had grown up sailing the ocean and a few rough waves couldn’t scare him.

 

When Sanji had been moving around the ship for almost half an hour, he began to grow concerned as he had yet to see another person. As well as it worked out for him, it was unusual for a ship to be this devoid of people. The longer Sanji moved around the more wary he became and every time he turned a corner he expected to see someone looming, ready to kill him, yet there never were anyone. Sanji then reached a staircase. He weighed his options, but he was pretty sure he had exhausted this part of the ship for all it had, and he could always turn back if it seemed dangerous. The stairs lead to a big room that could only be a mess hall, which in turn meant that a kitchen had to be close. Sanji didn't have to search for long until he found the door that lead to a kitchen, and he was suddenly very excited. His stomach again reminded him of how hungry he was, and he went to the fridge. A glance at a lonely clock told him that it was three in the morning, so Sanji figured he still had some time before he had to leave.

 

Just as Sanji was deciding on what to make a loud noise made him turn around. There was no one behind him, and when he peeked out into the mess hall there were still no people in sight. Sanji wanted nothing more than to go back to the kitchen, but years upon years of learning how to fight, survive and always stay one step ahead of your opponent were not easily forgotten. Sanji had to check out what was going on.

 

He moved away from the kitchen and the mess hall, and as the sounds grew louder he knew that he was moving in the right direction. He soon found a door that would undoubtedly lead him to the deck of the ship, but Sanji didn't need to open it to figure out what was going on. Someone was fighting. The familiar smell of blood was starting to make itself noticed and Sanji ran back to the kitchen. He didn't know what was going on, but there was no way he was dying here. He quickly gathered as much food as he could carry and ran back.

 

Sanji peeked out of the door and found the deck a full blown battlefield. He didn't know who were who, but that didn't matter, he needed to find a way to get off this ship. Simply jumping into the water wouldn't do, he'd drown before long. Besides, wasn't this the Grand Line? Sanji began moving along random objects to keep himself hidden the best he could, but it all turned out to be in vain when the ship suddenly tilted a dangerous amount. There were terrified screams coming from all around, but as soon as the water hit, it became dead silent.

 

Sanji took a deep breath when he broke the surface, but soon found himself underwater again. It didn't matter how good a swimmer he was, the ocean was too strong for him to fight. Sanji was frantically searching for something to grab onto, and was getting more and more desperate, when the time he had between each new breath continued to get longer. As Sanji's vision was blurring and his legs were feeling like they would give out at any moment, he saw his salvation. At first he thought that he was hallucinating, but as he grabbed onto it he smiled weakly. Apparently the ship had been completely torn apart by the massive waves and a big piece of what had once been a railing had floated Sanji's way. With the last of his strength Sanji climbed on top of it, still clutching his bag, and collapsed. As Sanji's body gave out and his mind surrendered to unconsciousness, the storm calmed and the sun rose over the horizon.

 

* * *

 

 

Sanji woke up in coughing fit. His mind was hazy, his head heavy and it was a little hard to breathe. A chill went through his body and he tugged the covers closer to him. Wait, the covers? Sanji looked around. He was lying on a strange bed in an unfamiliar room. Opposite him were two windows which let the moonlight shine through and a clock showing that it was midnight hung between them. Sanji tried to get up, but his body wasn't responding well and he collapsed back on the bed.

 

The second time he woke up someone was staring at him. Again he tried to get up, but this time he was held down.

 

"Don't move. You're still not well," the man said. Sanji wanted to protest, but coughed instead. 

 

The man put a glass of water to his lips and Sanji obediently drank it all. The man then helped Sanji sit, and placed a pillow behind him to rest on.

 

"You were lucky we found you," the man continued and Sanji followed his movements as he went to a cupboard by the foot of the bed and took something out of it, "It seemed that the rest of the crew weren't as lucky. Were you one of their kitchen boy?"

 

Sanji nodded. It was a perfectly fine cover. The man then gave him some medicine, and Sanji figured that if he hadn't killed him yet, then why would he do it now, so he took the awfully tasting liquid and swallowed it as quick as possible. Damn it was horrible.

 

"We rescued your things as well," the man said and pointed to the makeshift bag, where Sanji had put the food and books, "The food was completely soaked through, but we managed to save the books."

 

Sanji smiled. It would have been such a waste if he had just lost the books.

 

"What's your name?" The man asked, not introducing himself. Without thinking Sanji answered.

 

"Sanji," his voice was hoarse, and he regretted giving his name immediately after he had done it. How ridiculous would it be if he had gotten this far only to get found out because he used his real name?

 

"Well then, Sanji," The man said as he stood up, "Welcome to the Orbit."

 

The ship which had saved Sanji turned out to be a cruise ship. The people on board were either crew or rich people on vacation. As the name suggested, the ship sailed throughout the world. It mostly stayed within the borders of each of the four blues, but apparently one of its selling points was being able to venture across the Grand Line. They had picked Sanji up when going from South Blue to East Blue, and they were currently sailing across the Calm Belt. Sanji had been puzzled with this revelation, as very few ships would dare go across the sea that housed the most sea monsters, but apparently the ship was build like marine warships: with a bottom made of seastone. Sanji could only wonder where they had gotten the money to get something like that done, but he kept his silence.

 

When Sanji had recovered from what had apparently been pneumonia, he had been allowed to work in the kitchens. As he had pretended to be a kitchen boy he had first been tasked with the trivial chores of dish washing, potato peeling and onion cutting. However, as he continued to show his enthusiasm for cooking and the chefs grew more and more fond of him, they eventually began teaching him. Sanji liked these chefs. They were kind, they taught him cooking and they never asked any unwanted questions. Sanji spent an entire year on the Orbit, becoming a better cook and reading his stolen books until he could recite them perfectly.

 

And then the fateful day arrived. Sanji was throwing out the waste and cleaning the dishes, as he heard a storm building up. It didn't worry him. It never did. It was just another storm. Sanji wasn't exactly sure how he and the other cooks had ended on the topic, but they were suddenly talking about the All Blue, and it excited Sanji more than he dared admit. Even after all this time, he still dreamed of the legendary sea, and working with food for so long without anyone telling him off had fuelled the fire to his once so small dream. Apparently the other chefs thought that it was dumb, and called him a kid for believing that it existed, but Sanji had seen a lot of the world. Sure, logically it didn't make any sense, but Sanji couldn't help but dream.

 

Then the screaming started and they were alerted of the approaching threat of pirates. Sanji was told to stay in the kitchen as he was only a child, and Sanji needed to remind himself that these people didn't know about his fighting abilities. But after awhile it became clear to Sanji that these pirates were winning whatever fight was going on and, as pirates, they would likely kill everyone on board. Sanji wouldn't allow it. He couldn't die here. Not when he had finally found a place where he felt like he belonged, where he could cook without getting punished or looked down upon, where he would wake up every day not feeling like he already wanted the day to end. He wasn’t ready to let this go, not today, maybe not ever.

 

He grabbed the sharpest knives the kitchen had to offer and ran to deck to find that the pirates had the crew rounded up. Sanji took his stance and prepared to go in on who he assumed was the captain. The pirate simply looked down at him. He could faintly hear the chefs telling him to step back, but if he was going to die, he might as well die fighting. There was no way he was going down easily.

 

As a kick send Sanji flying backwards he had to remind himself that he hadn't actually been fighting for a year and just remembering the stance wasn't enough. He launched himself back at the captain, and dug his teeth into his shin. The guy used kicks, right? Why not go for the legs. And for no reason at all, Sanji declared that he would find the All Blue. He wasn't really sure why he said it, but it felt important at the time. He was kicked away again, but Sanji refused to die. He got up just as the wave hit the ship. For some reason, Sanji was experiencing deja-vu.

 

* * *

 

 

This time Sanji didn't wake up in a nice soft bed covered with warm blankets. He woke up on a rocky surface, and though he wasn't sick, he was aching all over. And the person who had saved him this time wasn't some kind doctor, oh no, it was the pirate who had attacked the ship in the first place. After some arguing they each had their share of food, each their side of the rocky island Sanji would soon call hell on earth and nothing to do but wait for help. And Sanji did what he did best in these kinds of situations. He counted.

 

By day five a ship passed but it was raining hard and they didn't notice Sanji.

 

By day twenty five he ran out of food.

 

By day fifty he was mostly bones.

 

By day seventy he got desperate and broke the deal he had made with the pirate.

 

Sanji crawled to the other side of the island using whatever energy he had left and his eyes widened at the sight that met him. The pirate still had a lot of food left. It was unfair, was it not? Sanji had had no food for weeks, and here the damn geezer still had more a lot more to spare. And if the pirate wasn't willing to give it to Sanji, he'd just take it for himself. Sanji took out his knife, which he still had and had contemplated eating multiple times in a state of delirium, and he made his way to the pirate. He wasn't as silent as he had wanted be and the pirate heard him before he even got close.

 

"What did you come for, little eggplant. Did you spot a ship?"

 

"I'll kill you and take your food," Sanji declared. Probably stupid to tell a person that you wanted to kill them, but after so long without food, logic was the last thing on Sanji's mind. The food though. The food was important. Sanji was so hungry that he went for the bag instead of the pirate and he used his knife to cut the it open, ready to dig in on whatever food came pouring out. Sanji was both disappointed and confused when he found no food, only treasure in the bag.

 

"What's this...?" Sanji asked defeated. Did he not have any food?

 

"I have treasure, but no food. Strange isn't it?" The pirate mused and Sanji was suddenly filled with rage.

 

"Then did you give me all the food? How did you survive?" Sanji made his way over to the pirate and grabbed hold of him, angry at the pirate for all the things that had gone wrong in the last seventy days, but the sight before him shocked Sanji more than anything ever would. Sanji could feel his anger seep out of his skinny body, as he slowly took in the sight before him. The pirate was missing a leg, and the realization hit Sanji hard.

 

"Did you eat your own leg?!" Tears were forming in his eyes.

 

"Yes," the pirate said calmly.

 

"Why?!" Sanji screamed, "I don't remember ever doing anything for you! I even tried to kill you! Why?!"

 

The pirate was still looking over the horizon. Calm, collected, and then he smiled: "Because you and I share the same dream."

 

And in that moment Sanji knew. He was forever in debt to this pirate. Whatever rage or frustration he had once felt towards him had completely disappeared and he listened as the pirate revealed another dream of his. Opening a restaurant that sailed the ocean.

 

On the eighty fifth day they were saved.

 

On the ninetieth day they used the money the geezer still had to buy a boat that would serve as the restaurant.

 

On the hundredth day the Baratie was open for business.

 

And just like that, nine years passed. Sanji went from a novice kitchen boy, to the most experienced chef in the East only surpassed by Zeff, and though his dream of finding the All Blue never disappeared, it was slowly hidden away. He could never leave the geezer. He had saved Sanji by sacrificing his life as a pirate and his dream of finding the miracle sea. He had raised him into becoming a proud chef who used his hands for cooking, and a strong fighter who used his legs to win against any opponent who dared take him on.

 

And then one day, when Sanji was cooking like usual, fighting some rude customer as usual and flirting with a woman as usual, there was a loud bang. A cannon ball had fallen through the roof of the restaurant, right into Zeff's cabin. The culprit turned out to be a pirate with a strawhat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> STILL NOT DONE WITH THE VINSMOKES! Next chapter follows Sanji as a grownup, and also concludes this little project.

**Author's Note:**

> Despite me killing her off in this chapter, I will write more about Mama Vinsmoke and Sanji in future chapters.


End file.
